Is it harder to shoot a long bow?

[Stone Knife]

Kirk, I have been to busy going to shoots, after this week I'm going to get started on them.

[Ghost Dog]

What we believe about a bow is, generally speaking, what the bow will do in our hands. When someone says that they just can't shoot a particular style of bow accurately, it is almost certain that they had that belief before they picked up the bow, based on the statements of others, or of some brief encounter with a bow that created an unsatisfying memory.

Mass weight of a bow can contribute to the feeling of greater stability, but in the long run it is all about what we have become adapted to. Having said that, if you can shoot a bow with a very light mass weight and shoot it well, say a 52" sinew backed juniper selfbow which weights practically nothing, your bodies neurological and muscular adaptation to that bow will serve you well when shooting a heavier mass weight bow. The opposite would not be true.            

No matter what type of bow you shoot, a rock steady bow arm is critical.The arrow shelf must remain still during the shot, and release must be smooth and consistent. Let me say that again; the arrow shelf must remain still and release must be smooth and consistent. It sounds so obvious, but  these two basic skills often become overlooked in the hunt for the perfect bow.

If you can achieve these two basic skills, the type of bow in your hand will become less and less of an issue. Our ability to be accurate with a given bow is always more about us as archers and less about our equipment.  

Go to Dean Torges website and read "The Elements Of Style" for the most concise treatise on shooting a bow; any bow.     http://www.bowyersedge.com/elements.html

[O.L. Adcock]

Ghost Dog, "if you can shoot a very light mass weight bow, say a little 52" sinew backed juniper selfbow which weights practically nothing, your bodies neurological and muscular adaptation to that bow will serve you well when shooting a heavier mass weight bow. The opposite would not be true."

I agree 100%...I think shooting qualities have nothing to do with what limbs are on it. Light recurves with "longbow" grips are as hard if not harder to shoot then anything. Bows don't decide how they perform or shoot, the builder does....O.L.

[Roger Norris]

How the grip fits your hand is everything, in my opinion.

[eagle24]

Originally posted by Roger Norris:
How the grip fits your hand is everything, in my opinion.

I agree.  A grip that puts my hand in the same place (consistancy) every time seems to be easier to shoot.  I have to really pay attention to my grip on some of my straighter, low wrist grip longbows.  I also have trouble if the arrow is not close to my hand.  Scores in AL tournaments this year were almost the same between recurves and longbows (not sure that means anything).

[Ghost Dog]

Grip shape can be a factor if it becomes a factor. In other words, if you are automatically comfortable and confident with a specific grip shape, that grip shape will become part of how you define a fine shooting bow, but there are plenty of archers who shoot a broomstick grip or straight grip (Hill style) with precision. There are others who can shoot a bow with a small oval grip with no shelf and no nock and floss your teeth for you with an arrow, albeit a really, really skinny arrow.  

[deadpool]

from my experience....yea it is!!!

[eagle24]

I guess what I was trying to say was that IMO one of these bows is easier to shoot than the others.  Maybe it is not all the grip, but I think it has a lot to do with it.
 

[Jedimaster]

Repeatable form, every time, makes any good bow accurate. Some bows are easier to keep "form" with. In my experience nothing makes a bow shoot better than time. It is why even though I buy new bows I always want to grab the old one. It feels natural and I know how the arrow will fly. No, I don't shoot straight handle bows well. But that is because my form suffers. The bow is good, I'm not. Not enough is said about muscle memory. JMHO.

[ChuckC]

Yeah...much harder.  and the guys that shoot longbows are REAL he-men            Nah.  I don't think harder...just different.  People take a shine to what they use, for a variety of reasons, and just like to shoot "them".  I have a great recurve that I shoot fairly well, but I just love to shoot my longbow.  Don't know why.
ChuckC

[Dave Lay]

I am with danny and others, I shoot a longbow fairly well, but just not as consistant as I would like. My recurve has a very nice grip (widow asbell) that is very consistant in hand placement, this and the mass weight of the bow I believe makes all the diffrence. I shoot the recurve quite a bit better than the longbow of the same weight. believe me I wanna shoot the longbow, but I am huntin and feel I should shoot what I shoot best. Shootin targets it doesnt matter. shoot whatever ya want

[sonofabuck]

Overall i shoot a recurve better at a longer distance. Say 15-18yds in i shoot the longbow almost as good. I could proably switch, but just like the recurve better at this point.

[redfish]

Not for me.

[jdupre]

Well, if results matter, the recurve is easier to shoot. Take a look at the difference in recurve and longbow scores at almost any big 3D shoot and you'll see that the recurve scores are generally higher. Also, Olympic archers shoot recurves and I'm sure they have tried enough equipment to have weeded out what works and what doesn't.

But, I like my longbow. Go figure.

Joey

[Bonebuster]

For some reason mass weight seems to really help
my shooting. A chunky, stout, recurve seems to fit
my style.

The first real hunting weight longbow I ever shot
had handshock like you wouldn`t believe. I call it handshock, but it rearranged my entire spine.
No clue of manufacture.

Someone already said it depends on the bow. I think they are right.

[Artur]

Originally posted by Stone Knife:
Is it harder to master a long bow than it is a recurve. It's kind of to late to ask this seeing that I'm hooked on Hill's, I just want to know.

I never did master the recurve I had (I was middlin' poor-to-ok with it), so I don't really know if it is easier to master than a longbow... I do know, though, that I like the longbow better than I did the recurve -- and I find longbow and recurve about the same regarding difficulty to learn. Now, if I could just master the longbow...

[Brian Krebs]

I found it a task to get good with a longbow after shooting a recurve for decades. But I like the longbow better. I think tuning a longbow to the correct shaft is a little harder.        
                                     
But I don't know ( after having shot a longbow for 6 years ) if my failures are because the bow is harder to shoot - or if its so much easier: my form and such are harder to concentrate on.

Ultimately I don't want a bow that shoots perfect with a gallon of sweat and effort; I want it to put an arrow where I want it- with the least effort.                            
                         
 A purely instinctive arrow hitting home from a longbow- feels better in my brain; than a shot from a recurve.                
                   
KirkII - that's a great group- but you should have moved the block target- before you took the picture; and perhaps drawn a small circle around the arrow group    LOL    

[Yolla Bolly]

I found that a "reversed grip" (courtesy of Steve Tourey - Northen Mist Longbows)  helped my shooting a great deal.  But nothing works if I  don't do the whole manual of arms---pick a spot, hook the string, draw, get the shoulder into it, anchor, release, follow-through---some days it just seems to flow, and others I stuggle.

[Ghost Dog]

Yes, it is true that the mass weight of a typical recurve riser will help to steady your bow arm. This is especially important if you don't have a chance to practice regularly. What is also true it that a longbow shooter who practices regularly (three or more times a week) will develop just as steady an arm from the physical adaptation necessary to hold a longbow steady at full draw.

The bottom line is this; you need to shoot the bow that makes you feel most confident during a critical moment.

[Deadsmple]

Based on the responses here and my own experience I would have to say that it really depends on the individual. I started out shooting a recurve and stayed away from the longbow for over a decade because everyone told me it would be much harder to shoot well.  It seems I am quite different from others here in that I have never found a recurve that I can shoot as well as a longbow. The only recurves I have ever shot that came close to a longbow were the recurves my neighbor builds with a straight grip. So IMO it really boils down to the individual.